I am a Burmese exile taking a near-permanent refuge in New York and Sydney. Here are my essays about Burma and anything else I feel like writing about. And posting the articles I like from selected sites. Bridging Burma to the world this Blog is more of a Politically-Oriented Literary Blog than a Plain News Blog or a Sophisticated Thoughts Blog.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Native Bodos In Assam Clash With Bengali Muslim Illegals

Assam riots toll reaches 32; thousands
flee home, Army holds flag march. Vicious riots in Congress-ruled Assam
continued on Saturday as the death toll rose to 32. Nine more bodies were
recovered from a village in Baksa district.

The riots are a result of conflict between Bodos and the Bangladeshi
immigrants in Bodoland Territorial Administration Districts (BTADC) area. Nine
bodies, including those of four children and two women, were recovered from
Khagrabari village under Salbari sub-division adjacent to the Manas National
Park in Baksa district, sources said.

This is the third such incident of
violence between Bodos and the Bangladeshi immigrants. The ones before this
happened in 2008 and 2012.

“We have reports that the NDFB(S) group
is responsible for these attacks. We have directed security forces to take the
strongest possible action against them,” said Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. The NDFB (Songbijit), however, has
denied any involvement in the violence saying it is “a political conspiracy by
Assam Government to trigger clashes between two communities.

Bangladeshi-Muslims are seeping like sewage into neighboring Assam & Arakan.

Vote-bank politics of Congress responsible for Assam riots: BJP

“It was a political conspiracy hatched
by Assam Government to bring about a confrontation between the two victimised
Bodo and Muslim communities and to resort to violence for political gain. The
Assam Government and its anti-Boro agents are the mastermind behind the
creation of the non-Boro, Rabha, Tiwa, Mishing and Karbi organisations”, a
press statement by NDFB Secretary (Information & Publicity Wing) NE Esara
said.

An indefinite curfew has been imposed
and shoot-at-sight orders have been issued in the Kokrajhar, Chirang, Dhubri
and Baksa districts of the State.

Nine Army columns have been deployed
and patrolling is going on. The Army has been staging flag marches in the
violence-hit areas to instill confidence among people and to bring the
situation under control. 22 people have been arrested so far.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi
decided to hand over the investigation into the violence to the National Investigation
Agency.

The BJP has lashed out at the vote-bank
politics of Congress Governments at the Centre and the State for the violence.

“The BJP strongly condemns the violence
that happened yesterday leading to the loss of life of many. Those who are
guilty must be apprehended,” BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters in
New Delhi.

PM Manmohan Singh.

“It is my charge that what is happening
in Assam is because of the vote-bank politics of Congress,” he said, adding
that adequate and timely steps have not been taken by the Assam Government and
the Centre after two similar episodes earlier.

The BJP questioned Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, who represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha, as to what he had done
in the last 10 years to ensure effective law & order in the State which has
seen repeated incidents of clashes between Bodos and immigrant Bangladeshis.

“The BJP would like to know from
Manmohan Singh, who is representing the State for the last 24 years in Rajya
Sabha, what he has done for the sanctity, good governance and effective law
& order in Assam,” Prasad said.

Congress blames Modi for Assam riots

While responding to questions about the
terrible riots in Assam, senior Congress leader and Union Minister Kapil Sibal
chose to take a swipe at BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi,
saying Modi stands for the ‘Model of Dividing India’. He accused BJP leaders of playing the
‘communal card’ to garner votes.

Opposition BJP Leader Modi.

The riot started on Thursday -- as a direct retaliation for the rape and murder
of a native Bodo girl by seven Bangladeshi Muslim men -- when a heavily
armed mob shot dead three members of a family, near Ananda Bazar area in the
same district. This was followed by firing in neighbouring Kokrajhar district
on Friday which left eight persons dead and several others injured.

On Friday night, 12 bullet-riddled
bodies, including those of five women and a child, were recovered from
Nankekhadrabari and Nayanguri villages in Baksa district. Nearly 100 houses and
a wooden bridge were set ablaze.

Police fired in the air after a mob
armed with spears and sticks tried to set fire to a forest range office at
Basbari in Baksa district this morning, sources said. This led hundreds of
people to flee their homes with some taking shelter in two relief camps. Of the
four districts in the BTAD Baksa, Kokrajhar Udalguri and Chirang, the first two
were affected.